MADRID, June 6 (Reuters) - Spanish citizens are almost equally divided on whether their Socialist government should see out its full term or call early elections, according to a poll in the influential centre-left daily El Pais on Sunday.
The poll of 506 Spaniards gave the right-wing Popular Party (PP) a 10.5 percentage point advantage over the Socialists if the election were held now, the same lead as another poll gave last Sunday, which would put the PP short of an absolute majority in parliament.
Over half the interviewees in the El Pais poll, 58 percent, said responsibility for the current economic crisis — Spain’s worst in 50 years — should be taken by the cabinet, some members of whom should resign.
The PP has increased calls for an early election after an austerity package intended to be rushed through parliament ended up scraping through by one vote in May..
The narrow vote made Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s minority government look wobbly, and analysts fear it could topple if it does not manage to pass legislation on labour and social security reform or its draft budget in September.
The poll was conducted nationwide on June 2 by independent polling firm Metroscopia, with a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
